Kate's Cancer Rocks the Monarchy

FACING A STORM OF RUMORS, THE ROYAL MOM OF 3 REVEALS A DEVASTATING DIAGNOSIS JUST WEEKS AFTER KING CHARLES DISCLOSED THAT HE TOO HAS CANCER. HOW THE ROYAL FAMILY IS COPING WITH THE UNPRECEDENTED CRISIS

- SIMON PERRY

Sitting alone on a wooden bench in the garden of Windsor Castle, near her home with Prince William and their three children-Prince George, 10, Princess Charlotte, 8, and Prince Louis, 5-Princess Kate prepared to tackle the most difficult speech of her life. In a video that sent shock waves around the globe on March 22, Kate revealed that she had been diagnosed with cancer and was undergoing chemotherapy.

The royal mom, so famous for her unerring poise, spoke about initially keeping the diagnosis private "for the sake of our young family," her voice cracking with emotion. Against a backdrop of yellow daffodils, often seen as a symbol of hope for those with cancer, Kate managed a hint of a smile as she concluded, "I am well." To others dealing with cancer, she counseled, "You are not alone." Says a source close to the royal household: "She held it together."

At 42, Kate is carrying an extraordinarily heavy weight on her slender shoulders: a scary diagnosis she has not disclosed the type or stage of cancer but said it was discovered after her Jan. 16 abdominal surgery-along with the eyes of the world on both her health and what her illness might mean for the future of the monarchy. But sitting in that garden, the same place where Queen Elizabeth had spent extensive time during her final years, Kate was focused only on sharing her truth in her own words.

"She wrote the words herself and delivered it personally-she wanted to decide when the time was right to tell the world," says her former private secretary Jamie Lowther-Pinkerton. "It is an incredibly important thing that she's done.